WASHINGTON – An ad hoc coalition, which includes meat and poultry processing companies and trade groups, sent a letter on April 7 to President Obama urging him to quickly resolve a dispute with Mexico that is keeping trucks from transporting goods into the United States and jeopardizing meat exports to the country.

Despite a North American Free Trade Agreement provision that called for allowing Mexican trucks to enter the U.S., which began in December 1995, and a February 2001 N.A.F.T.A. dispute-settlement panel ruling stating that excluding Mexican trucks violated U.S. obligations under the trade deal, Mexican trucks are currently prohibited from entering the U.S. As a result, Mexico recently retaliated against a host of U.S. goods, raising tariffs on a number of products.

"We need to get this trucking issue resolved," said Don Butler, N.P.P.C. president, "because although U.S. pork products were not included on the retaliation list, they could be in the future, and more importantly, our trading partners need assurance that the United States will live up its trade obligations."

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